How to Tune a Guitar: String Names and the Best Tuners
Tuning is simple when you know what each string should sound like. Try the tuner below with your own microphone. Or read on for the string names and the other tools that help. Let's get you in tune. 🎸
Guitar Tuner
Standard tuning: E A D G B E
Standard tuning
From the thickest string to the thinnest, standard tuning is: E, A, D, G, B, E. When you play a string open, with no finger on it, it should ring at exactly that note. That is the goal for every tuning method on this page.
An easy way to remember the order: “Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie.”
Tuning with an app
This is the fastest way for most people. Point your phone’s microphone at the guitar. The app tells you if each string is too high, too low or in tune. GuitarTuna, Fender Tune, BOSS Tuner and ClearTune all do this well.
Tuning with a clip-on tuner
A small tuner you clip onto the head of the guitar. It reads the vibration, not the sound. That makes it great in a noisy room, where a phone app struggles. The TC Electronic PolyTune and the Korg TM-60 are both reliable and cheap. Nice to keep in your gig bag.
Tuning online
Many free tuners run in your browser and only need your computer’s microphone. The one at the top of this page is one of them. 👆 Very handy when you practice at your desk, and your phone is in the other room.
Frequently asked questions
What are the guitar string names?
From the thickest string to the thinnest: E, A, D, G, B, E. The lowest and the highest string have the same name. They are two octaves apart. Same note, much lower or higher.
How can I remember the string names?
"Eddie Ate Dynamite, Good Bye Eddie." The first letter of each word gives you E, A, D, G, B, E. From the thickest string to the thinnest.
Can I tune a guitar without a tuner?
Yes. You can tune by ear against a reference note, like a piano or another instrument. You can also press each string on the 5th fret, and match it to the next open string. It is a good skill to have. But a tuner is faster and more precise, especially while your ear is still learning.